Lost, "Sundown": have you seen my baseball?

Review: Lost, "Sundown"(S0605) Okay, here's my theory on Lost. It's not all that extraordinary, and I'm sure there have been thousands printed online by now, but honestly I haven't reviewed many of them. In any event, here goes:

The "flash sideways" storyline will become the "real" reality by the end of the show. That is, the current storyline will resolve in such a way that the alternate storyline will become the reality that has been "all along." Simple, right?

This is a Sayid-centric episode, and Naveen Andrews is yet another actor who could easily carry this or another show on his own. The power of Lost investing so much time into the background of its characters is that when we return to such a noble and tragic character as Sayid it's like returning to an old friend. A lost friend.

Sayid claims at one point, during a climactic confrontation with a loan shark, that he has no choice in the action that he is about to take (and a kickass confrontation it turns out to be!). Lost has always been about choices, about fate versus free will, and that dynamic is brought into sharp relief in this episode.

We see Sayid taking in information, torn between choices, and doing what he feels what he must do, even if those actions don’t fall under the strict category of "right." We've seen this before with Sayid, with Ben (both in following his orders and later, shooting him), and dating back to his days as an interrogator with the Iraqi Republican National Guard.

Are his actions "right"? Is Sayid "good" or "evil"? I like the character, love the actor, but at the end I found myself very unsure about the answer to that question. And that, my friends, is some good TV right there.

Pretty cool fight between Sayid and the Samurai dude, as Hurley would say. What's up with the Samurai holding back on killing our main Iraqi man when the baseball falls off the table, though?

Not-quite-Locke assures Crazy Claire that he will only hurt those at the temple who "don't listen"… creepy.

Miles (Ken Leung) casually mentioning to Kate (Evangeline Lilly) that Claire (Emilie de Ravin) came back to the temple, was acting weird, the blonde, the one who had the baby… "still hot though." Genius.

"Now why'd you go and do that?" Not Locke to Sayid after Sayid stabbed him with Dogen's ornate-looking dagger. Very creepy.

Not Locke telling Sayid that he could have anything he wants, including the woman who had died in his arms: SUPER creepy.

The long awaited Kate and Claire reunion in the main storyline: not quite what you thought it would be, right? And for someone who has gone out of her mind in search of her son, Claire doesn't seem all that, well, sane upon hearing that Aaron has been raised by Kate all these years.

Sayid opening up multiple cans of whoopass on the loan shark dudes… amazing on a visceral level, even while it conforms to the tragic notion that Sayid is continuously forced to commit acts that he will never come to terms with.

Sayid rescues Jin in the alternate timeline post-whoopass. I love seeing the Lost character connects in the flash sideways, always fun stuff.

Video: Lost, "Sundown"Full episode currently available from the good folks at Hulu:

TV with Alan Sepinwall: Where the last two weeks brought us alternate versions of Locke and Jack who managed to break their emotional cycles - a Locke at peace with his disability and unremarkable life, a Jack reaching out to his son in a way Christian never reached out to him - we discover that Sayid in any timeline, in any locale, at any age, is always going to be the one called upon for a bit of the ol' ultra-violence.

More Sepinwall (which is always a good thing): I'm not demanding answers so much as I am entertainment, and watching Sayid kick ass in two timelines, even as both versions recognized that they're doomed to be killers, was damned entertaining.

RantRave: In the dungeon, Claire sang creepy songs and planned the best way to tear out Kate's throat with her teeth. Oblivious, Kate offered to show Claire her collarbones. I really hope they don't kill off Freckles next week!

IGN: Ever since the end of Season 2 we've been told by the Others that they are the good guys. If they are so good and their cause is noble then why do they keep everything a secret? Why wouldn't they want those who are on Jacob's list to know the whole truth?

ScreenCrave: For some odd reason, everyone had either gone crazy or was beginning to descend into madness thanks to the manipulations of the smoke monster/man in black/Pseudo-Locke. This episode wasn’t boring by a long shot, but even though it kept our attention the storytelling element was so-so.

By Eric - TV Geek Army "Revered Leader"

About the author

Eric is the publisher and revered leader of TV Geek Army… at least in his own mind. TV Geek Army is a place for serious TV reviews and news for serious fans of great television. Contact: eric-[at]-tvgeekarmy.com